Watched this classic again the other day and all
through it was thinking, "they don't make 'em like this anymore."
This film has it all --- action, adventure, a little bit of
romance, real stars and a great director, and an impressive musical score by
Dimitri Tiomkin.
John Wayne would make four more pics with director Howard Hawks
("Rio Bravo," "Hatari," "El Dorado," and "Rio Lobo"), but this is the one
that elevated the big guy to super-stardom and introduced the world to
talented Montgomery Clift.
Kick off your boots, settle back, and watch these two square
off in this well-crafted, tightly-spun epic tale about our country's
westward expansion. Wayne plays Tom Dunson, a tyrannical cattle baron
who takes on 10 men, an adopted son, Matthew Garth (Clift), and a sidekick
(three time Oscar winner Walter Brennan) to get 9000 head of cattle across
Texas to the Missouri railroad.
Along the way, there's a beautiful woman (Joanne Dru) to distract
them and a heart-stopping cattle stampede before the men rebel against
Dunson's mistreatment and switch allegiance to young Matthew.
He sees an easier trail to Abilene, Kansas. But left behind in
the desert, Dunson swears revenge.
---Michael B. Clark